Argentina government OKs renewed fuel exports for all but Shell

BUENOS AIRES (MarketWatch) — The Argentine government will allow three of the nation’s four top fuel retailers to continue to export fuels after they rolled back pump prices to October levels, a government official told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

The government’s price control agency, the Interior Commerce Secretariat, gave the local units of Repsol YPF SA, Petroleo Brasiliero and ExxonMobil Corp. the green light to export fuels Tuesday, the official said on the condition he not be named.


…Royal Dutch Shell won’t be allowed to export fuels, however, “because it didn’t lower its prices,” the official said. A spokesman for Shell said the company had not been formally notified, adding that he planned later Wednesday to check on pending export requests filed with the government. Argentina’s top price controller, Interior Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno, called officials from Repsol, Exxon, and Petrobras on Jan. 7, threatening to cut off fuel exports if the companies didn’t roll back pump prices.

Moreno didn’t call on Shell officials, however, since price controllers have excluded the company from talks since last year, after Shell indicated that it wasn’t interested in price controls.

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